Australian women are some of the biggest consumers of Hollywood gossip in the world. But it was still a shock when our latest research revealed that a third of Sydney Anglicans regularly read women's magazines. Is all that Tinseltown talk warping our minds? Southern Cross wondered if there are tools that may help our readers sort the treasure from the celebrity trash. Jeremy Halcrow asked a panel of four women experts for their advice.
Do take Hollywood gossip seriously
The influence of gossip magazines on all our lives should not be underestimated. Australians are more likely to be heavy magazine readers (33% of the population) than heavy commercial television viewers (19% of the population).
Women's magazines are by far the biggest sellers. Research also shows that women's magazines are a key vehicle for raising awareness about health issues.
Journalist Sophia Russell says their strength is that they cover issues critical to women's lives that are ignored by mainstream media: eating disorders, depression, pregnancy issues, female sexual health.
"My friends who work for these publications believe they have a particular responsibility to help women."
Some publications have editorial policies in place ensuring journalists regularly develop community service announcements into stories.
Yet the dark side is a celebrity obsession which idolises wealth and beauty. This is what is really serious, says sex and relationships therapist, Dr Amelia Haines.
She admits to feeling "greatly moved' when approached to tackle this issue for SC.
"To value this issue is to value women. So often men dismiss gossip magazines as trivial. But these magazines are making women feel rotten about themselves and this is deadly in marriages."
Do watch celebrities with a Bible open
A truism in journalism is that "people interest people'. This is not surprising, given that God has made us for relationship with Him and other people.
All media use the human interest factor to explain complex issues, agrees Sophia Russell. Your daily newspaper will use profiles to explain how the Federal budget impacts different people.
Television shows like Australian Story demonstrate how powerful this mode of reporting can be.
Bible teacher Claire Smith says Christians need to be aware that our emotions are being manipulated when we consume media.
"Personal stories are a very powerful," she says. "It's easy to suspend ethical judgement because we are impacted emotionally by a person's "story'. It's easy to feel our ethics with our heart. Rather we should think them through with our head, and with our Bibles open!"
Gossip magazines, says Claire, take the teaching of "ethics' through our interest in other people to another level by giving us voyeuristic access to the lives of celebrities and royalty.
"[They] present their looks, their relationships, their lifestyles and their values as not only newsworthy, but also acceptable and desirable," she says.
Claire finds it hard to list one good reason for Christians to read women's magazines. However she does admit that they help us to understand what our non-Christian counterparts are thinking.
Ruth Lukabyo, who trains evangelists, says celebrity stories can help Christians engage with those who don"t follow Jesus.
"I heard an evangelistic sermon the other day to a youth group that mentioned some of the gossip stories about Britney Spears and her self-destructive antics. The speaker said that people are looking for some guidance in how to live their life; they are searching. I thought it was a great illustration, especially for young people who may have been involved in self-destructive behaviour themselves and relate to Britney. The big idea of the talk was that Jesus is the light. We should look to him for guidance and for life."
However she adds that for the average workplace evangelist the big Hollywood stories that will be discussed "around the water cooler' can be gleaned from the mainstream media. "I don't feel I need to buy the gossip magazines."
Do seek good sex guides
As a sexual health expert, Dr Amelia Haines knows there has been a concerted effort by her colleagues to target women's magazines.
"We know how influential they are," she says.
Yet, even the quality of health information in many magazines is very inconsistent.
"I have seen patients who have had some very strange ideas. When we've talked it through, I find out they picked up the wrong information from magazines," Dr Haines says.
However, Dr Haines is happy to recommend her former colleague Dr Rosie King, who has a regular advice column in New Idea. "Rosie's advice is relationally oriented," she says.
"By putting sexual health advice in a relational context it helps readers understand how they can boost wellbeing in their marriage."
It might seem old-fashioned, but Dr Haines says the best place to look for health advice is in a medical textbook from the library " adding that there are a number of excellent American sex advice books written from a Christian perspective.
Don't get sucked in by raunch
Over the past decade, Mia Freedman, the influential former editor-in-chief of Cosmo, Cleo and Dolly, has loudly criticised promiscuity through her pages, calling it "soul-less sex'.
The problem, says Sophia Russell, is that her magazines present a mixed message by embracing "raunch culture'. Sophia says it is helpful to understand that raunch culture began as a worthy reaction to the militant feminism of previous generations that saw marriage as oppressive.
"The new generation wanted to say it was OK to be attractive to men."
The problem was the emphasis on self-fulfilment. The advertising industry was quick to exploit the new vibe. Celebrities like Paris Hilton were built into heroines. And female empowerment - once about choosing both work and motherhood - morphed into the narcissistic consumer choices promoted by Hollywood culture. Everything from breast augmentation to DIY sex videos.
Claire Smith is concerned the only coherent message readers are left with is "safe sex' at the expense of "sexual purity'.
"What is most important is the prevention of STDs and the sexual fulfilment of the participants, rather than the rightness or wrongness of the sexual activity."
Don’t buy the fantasy
Hollywood is called the dream factory for good reason. It is all about the manufacturing of fantasy. Women's magazines play the same game. Industry insider Sophia Russell sees the advertising in these magazines as "pornography for women'.
Some of these magazines are so powerful, they pick and choose what advertisements to place to boost their brands. As Sarah Jordan, National Advertising Director for Madison and Harper's Bazaar, admitted " you will never see an advert for yoghurt in her opening pages. She is looking for products that are more "inspiring'.
By inspiring she means the advertisements make women feel they need expensive products to be beautiful. So remember, these magazines are consciously designed to manipulate women into thinking they are not good enough.
Stop reading, says Ruth Lukabyo, if the article makes you discontent with your life.
"We need to be aware of our own temptations and weaknesses and think about them in a Christian way. There may be times where reading that magazine may not be helpful and other times when reading is just harmless escape."
Don't play the comparison game
Dr Amelia Haines says women's interest in celebrity is, at its core, a distortion of their God-given desire to be sexually attractive.
Women feel a need to compare and measure themselves against the sexual competition. Amelia says that while she does not buy women's magazines, she admits she often "gets sucked into flicking through the copies left lying in her [workplace] lunchroom'.
"I am attracted to look at celebrities. They look so beautiful. Men are so easily tempted by sexual desire that I have often wondered what trap women find easy to fall into. I think gossip magazines provide the answer. Women always compare themselves with one another."
It is this desire to outperform other women in beauty, fashion and in home-making that drives nearly every title from Better Homes and Gardens to Vogue.
Dr Haines says Christian women need to be more aware of the ways they compete over the latest fashions.
"It's just that we focus on areas we think won't compromise our piety," she explains. Have we bought the right products for our child? Is our home well-kept? "This is a major issue behind consumerism amongst Christians."
Claire Smith says its important to be content with what God has given us.
"This applies to men as well as women. Everyone is aspiring to something, and what we fill our minds will usually become what we aspire to."
